State laws regulating who can carry concealed, loaded handguns and where they may carry them are more permissive than ever before. In most states across the country, almost anyone may carry a concealed handgun in public after meeting some minimum permitting requirements. Still, a handful of states impose important restrictions limiting the number of guns in public, while Illinois and the District of Columbia continue to prohibit concealed carrying entirely.

Emboldened by its successes in state legislatures nationwide, the gun lobby has now turned its attention to Congress, where it is pushing legislation to impose national concealed carry “reciprocity.” Federal reciprocity would force states that issue concealed carry permits to recognize every other state’s permits, eviscerating every state’s authority to restrict who may carry guns within their borders. As described in our report, Forced Reciprocity: Why Your Community Shouldn’t Be Subject to Other States’ Weak Concealed Handgun Laws, forcing states to recognize other states’ permits poses a significant risk to public safety nationwide and tramples the abilities of states to set their own permitting standards to keep their citizens safe.